What Dreams Have Been Lost
by Dr. Movie
Summary: Do we follow our teachers? Do they give us new light, or do they instead reveal how much darkness exists? One must be wary of who they choose as a mentor.


Chapter Zero – The War

The wind was hot, blowing dust through the air to create a red haze with the help of a setting sun that draped itself across the rocky terrain of a canyon. The ground was scoured of vegetation and life, the cracked soil not a normal earthen shade, instead stained dark, rusty brown and red. Blackened outcroppings of rock, broken weapons of all varieties, and stray, mangled feathers showed the signs of some calamity that had not so long ago befallen the region, and in the wake of the chaos, the lonely gusts of wind were all that were left to bear witness to the expansive terrain. Even the normal wildlife had wisely disappeared, those beasts and instinctual beings knowing well the signs of danger coming.

Through the shattered barrens came a lone figure, racing overland as fast as legs could carry. Over bluffs and broken boulders its scrambled and ran, far from the pitted and scarred trail which made a makeshift road through the canyon. A small, dark tan and black covered figure, it came to rest against the hulk of a dead tree, its leaves burned away and trunk ashen. Breathing heavily, a pair of pointed ears drooped above pale, faintly purple hair as a slender, brown tipped tail held itself nearly motionless behind. A distant rumble echoed through canyon, its force lost over the distance, but it cause the ears to perk up and focus, along with the sharp, blue eyes of the rushing traveler. Despite its faint nature, it could be nothing good.

Taking a sip of water from a small canteen kept tucked in one of the belt pouches on the armor she wore, the traveler let out a breath and turned the canteen upside down above her head, eying its inner depths for any possible relief left within. A pair of stray drops of water fell out and struck her nose, her lips and nose twitching before she tossed the wooden container aside. She had already begun to walk again, and soon she was running, tearing across the ground as fast as possible with tail swinging about behind to maintain balance at her breakneck speed. Her hand occasionally dropped down to give her more support as she went over the uneven terrain, her other arm held up to block the dust from her face with the help of a metal shield, its surface caked with mud and grime.

It took little time to traverse the rest of the canyon, or so the disheveled traveler told herself. When finally she met the ends of the rocky terrain and it broke, through a pass in the rocks of no small size, she was greeted by something very separate from what she had expected. Green fields had been trampled and burned in many places, trees had been torn away, chopped down or burned. She had to look for several minutes, standing motionless after her long run to believe what she saw. The battle had vacated those lands she had been traveling for some time, a sign of the poor place those she had come to aid were suffering, but now it greeted her full in the face.

The grounds around the protected trees and stone buildings of grand size of the city in the distance, beyond the once beautiful fields was filled by volumes of advancing forces. They were odd creatures, as far as the cat-girl was concerned, her eyes narrowing and ears folding back slightly as she observed the mass of deep blue and gray feathered bird men that coordinated their preparations to lay yet another attack on the buildings beyond. In the back of her mind, she knew her position was terrible for what she needed to do, but she could not rest. Across the shallow footstep of one of the mountains which separated the plains into two halves, she could see more of them.

A few moments of concentration brought about the soft white and green light of magic to life about the ragged adventurer, and as she raised her hand, the sounds of her footsteps and the rustle of her clothes in the still hot breeze faded away. A second spell bent the light around her, her form vanishing from sight as she began to run, crossing over the battered grasslands. The spells kept her undetectable for some time, and even when she drew near some of the larger, older members who guarded the rear lines of the invading force she went unnoticed as she scaled the mossy sides of the last natural obstacle between her and her goal. It was when she reached the pinnacle of that rocky barrier that she found her luck made its farewell. The carefully woven enchantments of silence and invisibility faded away, and her weary mind was in no state to conjure them up again. She knelt down, looking over another large formation of the bird men, pondering her options with a weary mind.

The sun had sunken behind the mountains in the distance, leaving the moon and stars obscured by black clouds of smoke rising from fires and craters around the outskirts of the city, the blackness a cloak that fell over the sweltering grounds. No longer was it dry, however, as she had noticed since entering the grasslands that it was instead humid and muggy; stifling and hard to breathe. However, the darkness would operate in her favor, she knew, and she began to creep downwards again. Her goal was in sight, only barely masked by a small rise across the plain. She reached down to her waist and pulled from a worn leather sheath a slender, steel sword, letting its cloth wrapped handle settle in her hands.

Creeping among the back, shadowed ranks of the bird men's ranks, she moved her way around nearly silently, her natural agility a boon despite her generally non-physical approach to most problems. She was in good shape, but not a warrior by any stretch of the imagination. It was only a matter of time before she was discovered. A squawking call went up, and she dug her feet in and took off at a sprint, heading for the half missing hulk of the former military outpost that had occupied the field's center. At least half a dozen of them were trailing behind her, but the dark, starless night made her figure hard to catch as she raced among rocks, broken trees and soon the scattered wooden beams and planks from the part of the outpost that had been ruined. She wasted no time in hopping up to the fence and launching herself over it, landing among the shattered frame of the building.

The naturally accurate vision of the cat girl picked up after a few moments what she wanted to find. She didn't have time to consider the fate of the former owner, but a pack of potions and scrolls once meant to be sold to travelers lay scattered about the floor, not yet looted by the advancing forces. The magical bindings and protection of the building had kept them out, and she could only assume they had some organized team prepared to investigate in the morning. She did not have the luxury of waiting like they did, however, and so she scrambled through the bottles until she found what she was looking for.

The blue, clay bottle was not marked by a label yet, but she knew what was in it by the color coding used by the government's official apothecaries, the smooth container fitting neatly in her hand so she could pop its cork off and tilt it up, sucking it down as quickly as she could. The group of bird men caught up to the cat girl just in time to see her hands spread out wide, a deep, menacing howl of magical energy emanating from her form, which was darkly highlighted by deep green and violet wisps of coalesced magical essence.

"Ja nyan," said the cat girl as her form was swallowed by a swirl of black energy, catapulting her through space to another place not so far away, but much closer to her goal. The bird men came to a halt, seeing their prey gone, and began angrily squawking at one another before they turned and began to walk away.

Panic greeted the ears of the the cat girl as she appeared in a swirl of blackness next to a glowing blue crystal, its innate hum too quiet to be heard. The smell of burning wood and other less savory ingredients filled her nose, and she snorted, spitting to her side after a moment trying to get the smell's residual taste out of her senses. Short, pudgy figures were running about all around her, and she kept herself totally still to avoid tripping over any of them or accidentally kicking them. Instead, she took the moment to stuff her sword back into its sheath at her side and then rest her arms at her side, catching her breath and realizing just how desperately hungry she was. Yet, there was scarcely any time, and she knew there was more to be done.

"Out of my way, Taru, please!" shouted the cat girl, her fists clenching at her side and her tail straightening behind her, bringing a good number of the small people to a halt with horrified looks at her. She knew it wasn't her they were afraid of, but it worked all the same. She began to run, barely avoiding tripping over several of them even though they were semi-still. The winding paths of the city she had arrived in were covered in faint layers of soot and ash, and she could hear the cacophony of raging magic not so far in the distance. No small number of powerful magics were being called upon, but she knew from the numbers she had seen that there were not enough spells in the world to counter those invading bird men. Past the old auction house and the old fountain which surrounded an old, noble tree set in a stream, she tore past the entrance to residential areas and the magical research center she recognized as the Manaustery with her eyes fixed on the form of an impossibly large tree that towered over the whole of the city.

"Move, move!" again shouted the running feline, coming to a stop as she reached the border between separate districts of the city. She had been in one of the more business related areas, but this was the center of the city, and there were battles and explosions everywhere. Bursts of violet lightning, crimson fire, chilly white ice, earthen stone, and gusts of concentrated, vicious wind scoured over a huge force of the bird men, who were cutting their way through anything they could reach, their numbers seemingly endless. Bodies of the defending Taru and the invading bird men alike lay in spades throughout the center of the city, fallen into the water below its elevated planks or on its wooden catwalks. Further, her eyes caught many of her own kind as well laying dead alongside the Taru and bird men.

No words escaped the cat girl, but she could feel her eyes wet with the sight of carnage before her. She could see, far across the lake, the house of her father and mother burning, and the neighboring homes of childhood friends as well. It was fortunate that she had arrived on the opposite side of the town from which those enemies had invaded, but she did not expect or want to see the direct effects of their wrath. Her mouth had gone dry, despite the humidity, and her knees felt a sapping of their strength threatening her balance. Something shocked her back to her task, however, and she turned halfway to look behind her. A trio of cat-girls similar to herself with varying white and red hairstyles and heights aside a pair of Taru in the uniforms of the nation's magical forces were running up the scorched but still stable wooden walk she was upon. Probably, she thought, heading the same place she was as well. She shifted her position to block the path, her tail beginning to sway behind her.

"Stand aside, Mithra, we have business ahead," quickly spoke the leading Taru, his brown eyes peering up at the adventurer from his low height, a grim expression crossing his face and appearing quite out of place on the childish form. He had a small rapier at his side, and dressed in the tan and brown armor often made from the skin of large lizards. The others were clad in brown, cloth doublets with silver circlets around their heads. "What are you doing? You're keeping us from onward going!" he then said, as she stood unmoving in his path.

"He's not so far ahead. If you hurry you can catch him," replied the Mithra adventurer, her eyes turning as she stepped a bit to the side. There was no way she could stop all five of them in a head on clash, her mind told her, but there were other ways. They spoke no more, beginning to pass her as soon as she was not blocking the path, but she didn't let them get more than a foot or so before she brought her hands together and grasped the hilt of her sword, diving towards the back of the tallest Mithra. "I can't let you catch him, though." Blood stained the back of the cloth doublet, and the sword quickly pulled back, set in her hand as she began a dark spell.

"What are you doing!" exclaimed the Taru as he heard the strangled yelp of the first Mithra and turned, his eyes quickly figuring out what had happened. "We must stop him from ruining our future!" He held his hands up suddenly to shield himself from the magical force that assaulted the whole group with chunks of flying stone, one of which struck him in the face and sent him tumbling off the small bridge and into the water below. The others felt a similar hail of stone and magical force, falling to their knees, and in the case of the other Taru, also off the bridge.

"Yagami, stop!" cried out one of the two Mithra, looking up at her with a face marred by cuts and bruises from the blast of stone. "You don't understand what you're doing! We're trying to save Windurst!"

"If you succeed, there will be no city to save," said Yagami, shaking her head once. "I am sorry, Migami." There was a brief pause, before the adventurer took her sword and twitched her ear. The other Mithra was trying to continue the mission, and turned to run off. Her hands raised and she pulled up the forces of magic again. There wasn't much left in her reserves, but there was enough. Iridescent light swirled around her victim and slowed down, then froze, locking her in place.

"Stop it!" Migami screamed, her eyes squeezing shut as the adventurer stepped forward and struck through the third, bound Mithra with her sword. "Please, this can't be happening! You'rrre not like this!" She turned to look, and saw the dead falling off the bridge again at a nudge of the purple haired Mithra. "Why?"

"I've begun to learn something. Solutions aren't always fair. Turn around, hide, and wait 'til this is overrr," Yagami said, her 'r' rolling with the native pronunciation of the Mithra race. "This is the only way to save Windurst. I may be younger than you, but I guess I sure have a betterrr foresight than you do."

"No! If he does succeed, he's going to erase our future!" Migami said, standing up to face the other Mithra. They looked very similar, their heights comparable and their builds very much alike, save for their hair. Migami's hair was a shade of orange that contrasted strongly with the almost white, purple hair of Yagami. "Y-you can't take back what just happened, but please! Help me stop him! If I have to, I'll-"

"You'll do what?"

"I'll go thrrrough you!" Migami shouted, her eyes squeezing shut again as she clenched her fists and then reached for the sword at her side. "I'll stop you and him both!" The silver, polished weapon raised up to face Yagami, its surface almost like a mirror. The metal was not steel, but mythril, the adventurer could easily tell.

"That's it, then? The best ya' got?" A split second of concentration and form, and she had her arms unleashing her magic a last time. Darkness swirled in on Migami, and her eyes were clouded over before she could try to strike the other Mithra, her eyesight taken away by the fell magic. "It's time for me to go. Forget what you saw, and hide, before it's too late," she said, turning on the other Mithra to walk away. As she took her second step, she felt the pain of her flesh being cut by her sword, her arm loosing a thick rivulet of blood in its wake that marred her arm. She spun viciously, her own sword out, and she hissed through her teeth. "Fine then, sis, you can die too!"

Migami was spared the sight of her sister's look of rage as she was pierced in the chest by the slender sword of the mage, who then let her roll to the side and off the edge as well. A distant splash echoed in Yagami's ears over the sounds of battle as she turned to run off, not bearing in mind the nature of her actions. Her feet were tired, and she was near the end of her endurance, but she forged onward, determined to do what she felt she must to save the city. As she moved on, though, she also picked up a new sound behind her. The squawk of the beast men invading the city. She turned her gaze and saw them where she had been only a few minutes ago, one of them with its clawed hand pointing her out. A faint smirk of disgust crossed the Mithra's features, before she began to sprint again.

A cry made her stop for a moment, a shattered door and broken wagon at the side of the now broader path catching her attention. There, amongst a pair of Taru whose bodies fell victim to arrows, the kin of which she could hear whistling over her head and landing beyond as well as too close for comfort, was a wrapped cloth protecting a no more than a few month old Taru child. There was no time to ponder. She gritted her teeth and leaned down, tucking the child between her dirty shield and her arm, holding the young babe to her chest before she began to run again.

"Should of left the brrrat behind," Yagami growled to herself as she felt the baby sob far too close to her chest. "Too late now, though." Ahead, a path wrapped around the edge of the small island she stood upon, and she followed it, winding down to a stone door that had been recently forced open, moss and vines snapped and torn. Grasping the moon shaped engraving in its center which served as a handle, she began to drag it open. It took a few moments, but she managed to free it and then squirmed her way into the dimly lit passage beyond.

"Made it! Now, if this is locked," uttered the adventurer, forcing the portal closed again. "Ok, kiddo, time to get out of here." A moment of holding the door, and the seams of the door seemed to fuse closed, preventing it from being opened again. Relieved, she slumped down and checked, with a tentative touch, the wound on her arm. It was still bleeding, though not as badly as she had expected, but it was nothing she couldn't take care of after a few moments of resting there, finally having the chance to safely settle down, even if a short time. Curative magic was called down, the wound scabbing over and sealing with a soft blue glow of light. A great roar overhead then caught her attention, and the Mithra let a laugh escape her, grim mirth bringing a smirk to her face as she realized what was happening.

"Yes, you Yagudo bastards, now you'll learn what happens when you challenge ancient power," Yagami laughed, wiping at her eyes and clearing away droplets of moisture which had begun to grow all too numerous. "Run, scatter, die and scream!" No less than an hour passed as the tired Mithra listened to the sounds of carnage and destruction above, and she could feel the stone foundations shaking. It grew stronger and stronger, and she knew that even the ancient, hidden tunnel she was hidden in would not long last. Reaching into one of the pouches on her belt, she pulled free a simple, black and red checked scarf.

No normal piece of cloth was it, but instead a wondrous accessory that she wrapped around her neck. The magic was comforting as she felt the enchantment surround her, and she rose to her feet, exhaling a long pent up breath. She could feel the memories of her actions not so long ago beginning to fight to resurface, but she fended them off a bit longer. Long enough, at least, to let the item's sorcery take effect, ripping her once more, along with the baby in her arms, now gone silent and asleep, across the realm of Vana'diel to a distant Kingdom, on the opposite side of the continent from Windurst.


End file.
